


A dream is a wish your heart makes

by SonicGavel



Series: In dreams [3]
Category: Law and Order: SVU
Genre: Dreams, Expansion from Once upon a dream, F/M, Soulmates, Soulmates AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-04-11
Packaged: 2019-04-01 05:44:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13991706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonicGavel/pseuds/SonicGavel
Summary: Liv and Elliot never met in their dreams, though they were destined to do so. However with their childhoods messed up and Elliot meeting, falling for and knocking up Kathy, it wasn't until they became partners that they finally shared their dream world.





	1. Somewhere only we know

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm expanding Once upon a dream as a full-on universe for more than just Sonny and Raf. I thought Liv and Elliot should have the spotlight shone on them this time. Hope y'all enjoy.
> 
> P.S.: Could be multi-chap.

After her first day at SVU and dinner with her mother, Olivia was tired and needed to get up early. Everyone was nice to her, especially her new partner, Stabler. She crashed and immediately fell asleep. As soon as she did, she was in for an awakening as was who was waiting for her in her dream.

"Benson?" Her new partner called out to her.

"Stabler! What the hell are you doing in my dream?" Liv shouted.

"Your dream? I believe you've stumbled into MY dream." Elliot chided as they walked to each other. They walked around each other for a good fifteen minutes but they remembered what they were told when they were five.

"Okay, so my dad told me I was to meet a soulmate when I turned five but then my mom left and he took it all out on me. What's your excuse?" Elliot asked.

"Had to clean up my mom's messes when I was growing up, dealing with the fact that I was a rape product." Liv said.

"You win." Elliot said. Liv turned her head and they smiled.

"So why now after all this time do we get to be each other's soulmates?" Liv asked.

"I don't know but this'll be very hard to explain to Kathy when I wake up." Elliot said, genuinely grimmacing.

"What about Cragen? He'll have a headache." Liv started laughing at the idea of Cragen needing a whole bottle of Advil to sooth his aching head, the image sneaking into Elliot's mind too and causing him to laugh as well.

They continued like this until Elliot's alarm sounded.

"I guess I should go tell Kathy now." Elliot said as they bid each other good morning, then Elliot out of the blue kissed Liv on the lips, both smiling as they separated and Elliot woke up with a melancholy smile on his lips. Kathy woke up just as he turned off the alarm and he sat up to face her.

"Thank God you're awake. For a second, I thought your job was gonna leave you comatose." Kathy started before Elliot looked at her sternly. "Something the matter?"

"You know how I was given a new partner yesterday?" Elliot asked.

"Yeah, Benson. Why?" Kathy asked, confused.

"Well last night, when I went to sleep, I was dreaming and you know how soulmates meet in dreams when they're five but I never got to meet mine because of what was going on in my homelife?" Elliot explained.

"Oh god you met your soulmate last night." Kathy said. "El, that's wonderful." Kathy said to Elliot's surprise.

"You're not scared?" Elliot asked, now confused.

"Not at all, you deserve to meet your soulmate. I lost mine in a car crash when I was 16, so I know how important having one is. So who's the lucky person?" Kathy asked before putting it together that Elliot was already trying to tell her. "Oh, you're telling me it IS Benson." She realized as the bulb went off in her head.

"Kathy, I love you regardless." Elliot said.

"Hey, don't worry. We've survived you going in the Military and the incident with the grape juice on the carpet. We can survive this and if we need time apart, I'll let you know." Kathy said as she and Elliot embraced.


	2. Downlow is hard when it's not you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liv struggles to find someone when she and Elliot start getting closer and Cragen's willing to turn a blind eye.

A couple years in and Liv was already in bed with Elliot. So to speak. Kathy wanted Elliot to give Liv the space needed for both of them so she and the kids took some separate housing, keeping separation papers at hand just in case he wanted to ever leave her for Liv. Elliot didn't want that but didn't fight her anyhow because he knew she wanted him to enjoy what she couldn't. 

"I'm sorry, El." Liv said as they were getting ready for their respective alarms that morning.

"It's not your fault. It's Kathy, her soulmate died in a car crash when she was 16 and that's actually how we met." Elliot tried to explain.

"Tell me more tonight." Liv asked when her alarn went off. That morning, both were stopped by Cragen.

"I'm thinking of assigning you different partners for a while." Cragen said.

"Why?" Liv asked.

"You and El have gotten too close as of late." Cragen said. He then proceeded to close the door.

"You don't think I see the look you give each other at night? I know about your being soulmates. I shared that same look with my wife when I was 7." Cragen dazed back to when he and Marge first met. Her fifth birthday.

"So you get that same look every time you think about your wife, Capt'n?" Elliot asked, snapping Cragen out if his trance.

"Exactly the point." Cragen responded.

"We'll be careful, we promise." Liv said.

"We've been careful so far." Elliot agreed.

"Alright but if there's a lover's quarrel or any fight related to your personal feelings be it for a case or a personal issue at home-" Cragen warned.

"I'll personally put in for a temporary transfer." Liv and Elliot said at the same time.

"Alright then. Oh and Liv? Try and go on dates to make it look like Kathy left Elliot because of the stress of the job. News travels fast with IAB." Cragen told Liv. Liv said she could do that.  
....................................................................  
"I've tried dating other people but they just don't really fit." Liv said a few nights later.

"I know. Kathleen thinks that I'm divorcing Kathy and wants me to try online blind dating." Elliot cringed. Liv did too and they both laughed.

"I can't leave the kids like that, hung out to dry."

"I know, El. Hey, Kathy is only thinking about our future, like you said. Speaking of which, you said that's how the two of you met?" Liv comforted.

"Yeah. I was in ROTC and I was running the field when I bumped into Kathy. She was still grieving the loss of her late soulmate and her friend was walking with her, she slipped me Kathy's number and I called her a couple days later. I failed to cook for her and she laughed, we pretty much hit it off. Then she found out she was pregnant with Maureen and I had to drop out not only of the Military but also apply for the Academy. Maureen was born and then Kathleen was coming a year later. I slapped Maureen hard after she accidentally spilled grape juice on a carpet we couldn't afford, then stopped myself because I was afraid I was gonna turn into my father." Elliot lowered his head in shame.

"At least Dickie and Lizzie are alright." Liv said, Elliot nodding.

"But one day will come that Kathleen, Dickie and Lizzie could make bad decisions in their lives and I worry I'll really tear into them." Elliot gulped and Liv petted his head.

"Kathy and I will be right here, El. I especially won't go away." Liv reassured Elliot as he grabbed her close and kissed her as much as he did the night they found out they were soulmates. Each article of clothing disappeared from their persons as the warmth of their bodies collided. The soft caresses of Liv's fingers were just enough to bring Elliot to the peace of mind he needed to take the next step. He picked Liv up and kissed her neck as he found a close wall and grinded against her as he applied enough pressure between Liv and the wall they were naked against. Soon, he was ready to enter her and vice versa, she was ready for him. They made out as he slowly thrusted into Liv, Liv throwing her head back in pleasure. Elliot grunted at how amazing this was and he got into it a little more. Soon though, they both reached their peaks.

"Oh God." Was all Liv could say after when they climaxed.

"Wow. We should do this outside our dreamworld." Elliot commented.

"Perhaps someday when we don't have to worry about breaking the rules." Liv said as they kissed and lied together until they had to get dressed before the sound of the alarm woke one of them up.


	3. Undercover and with a temporary partner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liv goes undercover for months and El's with Beck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a bit of catch-up in the Bensler dream world.

Being undercover like eight states away and barely being able to sleep was taking it's toll on Liv. Right down to when she was in Oregon and got assaulted by that state trooper. When she was out, Elliot was beaming.

"Liv, they gave you time to sleep?" He asked.

"Some state trooper clonked me on the head while I was standing between him and another member of the group I was infiltrating." Liv explained. "Too bad I don't have jurisdiction as a cop up there, I'd like to charge him for assaulting an officer." They laughed. "How are you holding up without me?"

"I had a partner for a while, Danni Beck. She was a loose cannon a bit. She lost her husband and every year on his death anniversary, she asks the guy who iced him why." Elliot said.

"I sense the two of you kissed." Liv said.

"I was missing you, Kathy was instigating fights to try and get me to say it's over, so I got some stress. We were making out against her car when we got a call about a disturbance so that was all that happened, nothing more." Elliot said.

"As long as nothing more happened but the kiss, that's fine. What else has happened while I was away?" Liv asked as Elliot filled her in on the case of the foster kids in the van, Munch's uncle and the rape case she was in on before she went undercover.

"I'll try and be there in time for the trial. How's Chelsea?" Liv asked.

"She's barely hanging on. Casey's trying to get her to talk to a shrink but she says she won't seek psychiatric help until you come home. So how long do you think?" Elliot asked.

"Probably a week if that asshat trooper charges me with resisting arrest." Liv said.

"Maybe longer if there's a cold case?" Elliot projected.

"I don't know, but if anything comes up, I'll try and call you." Liv felt she was about to wake up, so she quickly kissed Elliot on the nose followed by a reciprocation from him as they parted and she woke up handcuffed to her hospital bed. As it turned out, Elliot would be right about a cold case when she was done being processed in Oregon and a week was exactly how long it took. She was immediately back in Manhattan to hold Chelsea's hand before the judge could throw the whole case out.


	4. Find us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skipping ahead to when Kathy has Eli, I'm adding a new trick. Telepathy. Liv telepathically alerts Elliot to the crash and is able to see Eli's birth unlike he was in the episode where this actually happened.

Elliot checked on his family to Liv's urging one night and Kathy allowed him to stay the night with her. Two months later, they found out she was pregnant.

"I hope for a boy too, Dickie might not be enough." Liv was saying during a dream date.

"Of course that does mean I have to move back." Elliot said.

"I was never holding you back from that, El. And you and I both know Kathy wanted to give us space." Liv assured. "I'll be fine." She then kissed Elliot on the nose and then woke up due to her alarm. As the months progressed, Kathy wanted Liv part of the situation. All the kids realized what was going on with Elliot and Olivia once they got their soulmates. Maureen knew before Kathleen even got it and then Dickie came up to Elliot for advice.

"Yeah, what's up?" El asked to shoot when Kathy was seven months in.

"Well I have a soulmate named Shane and I hadn't heard from him in months. I'm scared, Dad." Dickie gulped in fear that his soulmate might be lost to the dark.

"Son, I never found Liv until after we became partners. Maybe Shane is going through something dark in his life right now and he's having trouble trying to find his way out. All I can do is tell you to keep calling out when you dream and maybe you'll find him again." El hugged Dickie tightly and told him to get ready for school.

Two months later, Kathy and Liv were driving home when they were knocked unconscious. Liv called out through a weak signal at first to Elliot's mind, just as he was pulling in to arrest the guy who was gonna lose his son for killing his soon-to-be-ex-wife for taking his son away from him when he heard Liv calling out.

"El! EL! Come quick! We need you." Liv struggled but El heard loud and clear.

"Fin, you got this?" Elliot gave Fin lead as Fin arrested the jilted father.

"What's going on?" Fin asked as he put the guy in the patrol car.

"Liv just called out to me frantically. I think it was some kind of telepathy. She and Kathy need me, I gotta go." Elliot said as he sped off in his own car and made it as firefighters were getting Kathy out.

"My God, who did this?" Elliot asked.

"Some idiot." One fireman said as he let El pass to the car.

"Elliot? You came!" Kathy cried.

"I called him. Telepathically." Liv said.

"That's what my soulmate did the night he died." Kathy then screamed as Elliot and Liv took her hand and realized the impact caused her to go into labor. Elliot held her hand tightly and they did LaMaze breathing as she quickly dilated and the baby was soon born.

"It's a boy." Liv said as she delivered little Eli.

"Hello, Eli." Kathy cooed as Liv cleaned him up with her jacket and gave him to his rightful parents. A few hours later, they were all at the hospital, Kathy recovering from a slight hemmohrage and Elliot finally getting to hold Eli after he had gotten to cut the cord in the ambulance.

"How are you three doing?" Liv asked.

"Kathy wants you to adopt Eli if anything happens to her." Elliot said.

"I'd be honored." Liv said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So next chapter is a fix-it for "Turmoil" Dickie finds Shane and Elliot while trying to go on a dream date with Liv has a nightmare of what happens to Shane if he doesn't let Dickie use some of the money from his card or continues to disapprove of Shane.


	5. Elliot's dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As I said in the end notes of the last chapter, Dickie finds Shane and Elliot has to make a choice involving his son.

Eventually, Dickie found Shane.

"I thought I lost you." Dickie said as he hugged Shane.

"I had a few bad hits in life so I decided to get back to reality once I heard what sounded like your voice." Shane said as he looked into Dickie's eyes. They kissed suddenly and then they just embraced after a while. From then on, they spent every waking hour together. Dickie even offered to get some money withdrawn with his ATM card to help feed recovering addicts like him, going grocery shopping for food and other supplies. Kathy and Shane's mom heard about one another's son and became good friends.

However, when they got accidentally pulled in by police for being at the wrong place at the wrong time, Dickie tried explaining what was going on as Elliot was coming by.

"Dickie, what're you doing here?" Elliot asked.

"I found Shane. Dad, you were right. He was in a dark place but I became the beacon." Dickie said as he introduced Shane to Elliot.

"Hello, Mr. Stabler." Shane said as he tried to pull his hands out from behind his back. "If I wasn't handcuffed, I'd shake your hand." Elliot shook his head as he asked for details.

"Well I've been helping Shane grocery shop once a month to take them to a halfway house for people who are sick like Shane was. In fact Shane used to take a shortcut to this halfway house back when he was using and we were running late when he suggested we take the shortcut when someone tried to pedal a kilo of Coke at us. That's when the cop caught us." Dickie said.

"With your own money?" Elliot said, worried.

"I never let him know the code. Don't worry, Dad." Dickie assured.

"I'll stop delivering for three months if it's alright, sir. I wouldn't want Richard's good name to be tarnished enough as it is with the arrest.

"Richard? Dickie, you're going by your full first name now?" Elliot asked confused.

"I have since I started high school." Dickie said.

"Okay, I'm gonna try and get Cabot to fix this and uh, Richard, I guess, I'm gonna warn that being with Shane could be dangerous. Try to only hang out in your dream world for a while. Okay?" Elliot said.

"Alright." Dickie said as he went to take Shane home after they were processed. Later that night, Kathy talked to Elliot.

"I don't know if it's healthy for your relationship to restrict Richard and Shane. I mean you get to see Liv as much as you want." Kathy countered.

"Shane might be recovering but a trigger as big as cocaine could get Shane back on that path. I don't want Dickie to fall down that hole." Elliot took a deep sigh. "I just want Dickie to be safe."

"I get that but that's how my parents were thinking the night I lost my soulmate. I found the brakes of his car three days later in my dad's garage, like he didn't want me to be there because he knew I wanted to lose my virginity to him. What if instead of becoming your father, you turn into mine?" Kathy chided concerned.

"I promise I won't and if there's a sign tonight that tells me I'm headed down that road, I'll tell Dickie he needs to be with Shane ASAP." Elliot assured as he kissed her cheek and fell asleep. Except instead of Liv waiting for him was a dream where he gets into a punching fight with Dickie, grounds him and forbids him from seeing Shane again after Shane had Dickie's ATM card on accident, then some junkie attacks Shane when he doesn't have any money on him and when he doesn't know Dickie's code and the junkie smashes his face in before anything can happen. Suddenly, those apparitions of what could be turned into Kathy's father.

"Son, you need to know that losing your child over the death of their soulmate is the worst thing you could do to yourself." The older man said.

"So you killed Kathy's soulmate?" Elliot asked, confused.

"I knew Kathy was going to go all the way with him, but you know how fathers get. I talked her school into giving her extra homework, grounded her until it was done and then cut the brakes off of the car he was taking that night. She found the brakes three days later and I looked into her eyes later that night. She knew. Then she met you and you know the story." Kathy's father then poured himself a stiff drink. "I guess Maureen is a spite mine for what I did. I didn't mean to hurt her but the damage is done. Don't give any damage to the kids. Richie especially." Kathy's father said. He always called Dickie Richie and cared about him most.

Elliot woke up from that and ran into Dickie's room.

"Dickie, wake up." Elliot panicked.

"What's wrong, Dad?"

"Call Shane and tell him to come spend the night. I also want him to take a drug test just for me to be sure he's completely clean." Elliot said.

"He has a parole officer do that once a month. He'd be happy to get them to fax over the results first thing." Dickie said.

"Okay, do that then. Just call him over to spend the night." Elliot almost barked out. Dickie did as ordered and Shane's mother was here in a matter of minutes.

"Why the change of heart?" Kathy asked.

"You don't wanna know." Elliot said as he embraced Kathy and kissed her temple as Shane and Dickie talked about their plans for after waiting the three months.


	6. Two years gone and we still dream date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of a fix-it for Calvin, his grandparents see Liv as a better fit for him seeing as they're not as young as they could be to care for a child as young as him and later that night, Liv and Elliot catch up during a dream date.

Liv waited for the judge to sit everyone down and the grandparents spoke on Liv's behalf, surprisingly.

"We're not as young as Detective Benson is. She's a better parent than our daughter-in-law ever was and our son is in prison as we speak. He deserves someone as stand-up as Detective Benson and he's old enough to stay at home alone when she works nights." Calvin's grandmother.

"Your honor, it's not that we don't care about or love Calvin, but we see it best that where we live wouldn't be a good fit for him and we've tried before to be good hosts to him as he lives with us for the last few months but he's moody and sighs a lot. Sure it's typical for a teen, but for a teen who doesn't have very many children to play with in the neighborhood? It's depressing for them." Calvin's grandfather added.

"And sure we could move, but we could lose what funding we already put into the home we live in." Calvin's grandmother began to conclude. "So in other words, my daughter-in-law made a grave mistake and my grandson deserves to be with Olivia, who I would adopt in a heartbeat as my own if it meant giving Calvin back to her." She finished and Liv shed a tear. After taking it into thought, the judge ruled that Calvin's rightful guardian was indeed Liv, who'd visit his grandparents with him at least once a month, which was fine by them.

Later that night, after a celebratory pizza party with all the friends he got back now he was with Liv again, Calvin crashed in his room as Liv went into hers and fell asleep once the pizza and soda was put up.

"Hey, I heard you got Calvin back." Elliot smiled as he hugged Liv. She hugged back.

"Yeah. We had a pizza party to celebrate. So how's everything?" Liv asked.

"Kathy thinks I'm an idiot for restricting our time together to just dreams, Kathleen's boyfriend who took my credit card paid me back but she still has that tattoo, Dickie and Shane are running a non-profit in Queens and they met Fin's son, Ken. Eli hasn't seen his soulmate yet but he hasn't given up hope. Has Calvin ever said anything about soulmates?" Elliot asked.

"All he knows is his mom's was her best friend who temporarily took care of him until I found him but he hasn't been able to meet them yet." Liv said. Suddenly, Calvin started calling out frantically.

"That's Calvin. I gotta go." Liv said as she kissed Elliot quickly on the lips and then made her way to Calvin who was standing in front of her bed.

"My soulmate broke through to me a few minutes ago. What do I do?" Calvin asked.

"Just play it cool, act natural. Ask them anything. Compliment them." Liv said.

"Act natural, play it cool, compliment, ask anything. Okay.

"What's their name?" Liv asked.

"I don't know, but it's a five-year-old boy." Calvin said as Liv nodded and lied down to see Elliot again.

"Correction, Eli finally broke through to his soulmate." Elliot said.

"Calvin got broken through to his too." Liv said as they continued their date night. A few days later, Calvin was visiting Eli's preschool to read to them when he saw Eli, then secretly smiled as he saw him back and gave a big gappy smile after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think of Eli and Calvin being soulmates?


	7. Any easier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liv and Elliot don't get to see each other as much and Liv talks to Raf about it.

A couple years later, Liv was sargeant and running the squad. Raf had become Manhattan's new ADA and the team gave a liking to him. Liv on another hand, still missed Elliot. A fact that not even Raf couldn't miss.

"He has his own life to live, but we barely go on dream dates these days because he and Kathy are preparing for her inevitable death and I have Calvin getting ready for high school and Cassidy. Does it get any easier?" She asked Raf one night after a rough case.

"Sonny'll just tell me when he can't see me in our dream world and I just wait until he can." Raf said. "But on the nights he can, we spend every hour we can."

"I envy you, Rafael. You haven't even met your soulmate and yet you're perfect." Liv said with a romanticized sigh.

"We sometimes have petty fights. For example, on his fifteenth birthday, he insisted we do a celebratory tenth anniversary coffee party and he brought his stuffed teddy bear whom he brought with him in his dream the day we met on his fifth. Then he still expected it for his 25th. I told him I drew the line at 35, but he pouted. In two years, Harry's joining us for another coffee party. Why not make sacrifices for the men in your life?" Raf sighed as he got out of his seat to go back to his office.  
....................................................................  
Meanwhile, Kathy's health had begun to diminish. Ironically enough, it was her soulmate's anniversary and she was beginning to take a turn.

"Elliot, take care of the kids. Make sure they're all fine." Kathy coughed as Elliot reassured her everyone was fine. Upon the discovery that Eli was Calvin's soulmate, Liv said it'd be too awkward to adopt Eli. So they agreed against it.

"You can fully be with Liv now, you know." Kathy said as she smiled, the image of her long dead soulmate coming to her.

"How do you know she won't be upset with me for holding her back?" Elliot asked.

"Just trust in your heart she'll forgive." She said as she took her last breath and she was gone. Elliot and the kids all cried at her loss and they also assured to Elliot that they'd be okay with Liv reentering their lives.

Elliot contemplated it all night and made the decision to make contact with Liv the next night. At the same time, Liv discovered baby Noah.


End file.
